Shield
by claire-and-peter-6
Summary: New characters. takes place in the first season after the episode 'parasite.'


This is our (yes, as in two authors; we rotate writing) first Heroes fic. We started it when we first saw the episode 'Parasite.' We are completely disregarding the information in the other episodes we've seen since then, such as the fact that Angela is Sylar's mother. Please review!! (First chapter written by Claire6)

Chapter 1

'Dr. Suresh?' Peter called. 'Mohinder?' He pushed open the door of apartment 612.

The room was dark. Dark and trashed. A chair was overturned. Papers littered the floor. A lamp was smashed and the pieces of glass lay scattered.

_What happened here?_ Peter wandered into the room, taking in the dishevelment.

Something wet fell onto his head. He reached a hand up and felt it. More liquid fell. Streaks of red ran down his head and was stained on his hand.

The sight of blood gave Peter a start. Looking up, he saw Mohinder. He was pinned to the ceiling, bloody and half dead.

'Sylar,' Mohinder was able to rasp out.  
Peter turned and came face to face with the psycho murderer. In a second, he was shoved into the wall and being chocked.

'Well, if it isn't Peter Partrelli!' Sylar hissed.

Peter's response was a pitched scream as his forehead was cut.

'Stop!' a yell came from Peter's left. He couldn't see who it was. His vision had turned red from the pain of his forehead. He heard a grunt and a sound of someone hitting the far wall.

As soon as he was released from his pin, Peter healed himself and was able to look around. It was too dark and his eyes needed time to adjust.

'Peter, get Mohinder down!' the new voice ordered from across the room. He obeyed as soon as his eyes would let him.

Mohinder's own vision was turning blurry. It shimmered back and forth like the ripples of water. He turned his attention to his other senses. All he could feel was pain, but his hearing was good. So, he listened. He heard, just as Peter had, the sound of a body hitting the far wall. The snapped command to Peter sounded foreign and familiar at the same time. The voice sounded like that of a familiar stranger, familiar enough that it reminded him of a person in his past, but to harsh to be the voice of whom he thought.

Then, the feeling of pain intensified as Peter pulled him from the ceiling.

The scream from Mohinder made her flinch.

_Focus!_ she demanded of herself. _You'll be no good to either Peter or Mohinder if you let your guard down and Sylar bests you!_

She took a few steps back from where Sylar lay on the floor. He was pulling himself up, bracing himself against the wall she had slammed him against. She focused all of her attention on his movements and his gaze, trying to read what his next move would be.

Peter grabbed a nearby pillow that had been thrown from the couch and used it to prop Mohinder up against the wall. Knowing he could do nothing more to help him with the psycho still in the room, Peter stood and turned. He found Sylar and the mysterious woman standing face to face as if preparing for an old western gun draw. They both seemed so intent on the other that Peter doubted he was even noticed by either one.

Sylar watched this woman and could see how her powers worked. There was something special about them that he didn't even need to see her brain like he had to for his victims. He could see how they worked, and yet he could not tap into them.

He focused all of his energy. He had to be perfect in his next move. If he made the smallest of twitches, she would counter it. With the blink of an eye, he threw her into the west wall of the apartment, just missing the window.

Peter watched in horror as the woman's body crumpled in a heap on the floor. He wanted to go to her, make sure she was ok, but Sylar was already taking a step towards him. He could feel Sylar trying to use his powers to fling him, could see Sylar's hand moving at his side. Using his own powers, Peter countered Sylar's attack with a momentum of his own. Both men were thrown off of their feet.

Her shoulder hurt from the impact against the wall. She figured it had popped out of its socket and as gently as possible, she popped it back in. Hissing from the pain, she looked up to discover both Peter and Mohinder sprawled on one side of the room and Sylar on the other. She tried to get up, go over and help Peter, but she could barely move from the pain in her shoulder and side.

Sylar stood and walked towards the two fallen men. He could see the life slipping from Mohinder's body and the panic that had befallen Peter's.

In an act of defense, Peter tried to turn invisible. His powers didn't comply. He wasn't focused enough. The treat on his life had paralyzed him and left his mind scattered.

Sylar smirked and reached for the kitchen knives with his mind. They came flying around the corner, headed for his prey.

_Oh crap!_ Peter thought. _Sylar's going to win._

Mohinder couldn't see the razor-sharp blades shooting towards their bodies, but he sensed how tense Peter was. Something was wrong. Someone was about to die.

'NO!' she screamed.

Her high- pitched, blood-curling scream startled Mohinder so much that he could see beyond the red pain and make out the shapes of the people and objects around him. He now knew that it was he and Peter that were going to die.

Peter himself was knocked out of his stupor by her scream and calmed a bit. He got into a crouch, getting ready to use his powers to save them both.

Before he could release from his crouch, a white haze appeared before him and Mohinder. It obscured his vision and he feared he would miss a knife and it would hit the man behind him.

But, when the knives hit the white fog, they stuck. None passed through it. Slowly, the fog began to take shape and substance. The hazy white was gone and in its place was the woman. The knives pierced her body; one in her leg, another in her arm, and the other two in her torso.

To Peter's astonishment, she didn't fall. She stood tall as if she was not injured at all. She lifted her uninjured arm towards Sylar.

'Leave!' she commended. 'And never return!'

She flung her arm and Sylar was carried out the apartment door, down the hall and stairwell, and thrown on his rear outside the apartment building.

Peter ran to the window. Sylar had picked himself up and was trying to step back into the building. His efforts were futile. He would take a step into the doorway only to be swept off of his feet and knocked on his butt again.

When Peter looked back in wonder at the woman, he saw she had pulled out the knives and dropped them on the floor.

'Who are you?' he questioned.

'I will explain it all later,' she said as she lifted her head to look at him. 'Right now, we must help Mohinder.'

'What can we do?' he asked as they moved towards the fallen man.

'Bring him over to the couch,' she instructed.

Peter gently lifted him and took him to the couch while the woman got another pillow and a blanket. After making him as comfortable as possible, the woman knelt beside the sofa.

'Mohinder, I need you to open your eyes,' she asked softly. When he did so, she continued. 'This is going to hurt, but I promise it will make you better. Do you trust me?'

_What a funny thing to ask, _he thought. _I'm dying and she's asking for my trust. What funny creatures we are indeed._

Despite his thoughts, he nodded. Maybe by giving her his trust, he might, before he died, repay her for helping his friend.

Peter watched their exchange in confusion. He, too, thought she had asked a pointless question and was wasting time. They should be getting Mohinder to a hospital.

The woman seemed in no rush, though. Leaning forward on her knees, she took Mohinder's hands in her own. Closing her eyes, crouched even closer and whispered 'Tal moro!'

Mohinder's wounds began to glow. Slowly, the light they gave off traveled over his body and to his hands. He relaxed as the pain eased from his body through his hands. He closed his eyes and was asleep before his sigh of relief fully left his mouth.

The glowing light traveled into the woman's hands and sped towards her heart. When they reached the spot on her chest, it dimmed and finally faded.

Slowly, the woman stood gingerly and turned to Peter. 'His wounds are healed, but he will have trouble remembering completely what happened. It's a side effect of my power.'

Peter nodded, speechless after what he had just witnessed.

The woman turned to leave, but collapsed onto the floor, her energy spent after helping Mohinder.

_Crap!_ Peter thought.

To Be Continued

Please review and let us know what you think! Constructive criticism is welcomed! But NO flames.


End file.
